Cartridge dispenser



May 23, 1950l P. FRAU-:Y

CARTRIDGE DISPENSER Filed Dec. 31, 1948 JN VEN TOR.

Patented May 2.3, '195.0

CARTRIDGE DISPENSER Early P. Fraley, Doraville, Ga., assigner of onehalf to Ray DurdemAtlanta, Ga.

Application ecemher 31, 1948, SerialNo. 6&676

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to'v storage and dispensing devices, and particularly to acartridge dispenser` for supplying rifles and small arms with cartridges.

The main object of my invention is to provide a cartridge dispenser which is capable of storing a large number of cartridges in av safe andconvenient manner for dispensing the cartridges therefrom at will.

Another object is' to provide a cartridge dispenser of the indicated character whichv is adapted toquickly dispense' the cartridges either one at atime to-single-shot rifles and small arms, or in' groups to magazine rifles and the like.

A further object is tohave such a cartridge dispenser provided with a large magazine portion and a movable, relatively smaller magazine ordispensing member mounted thereon with dise pensing plates at the ends of thedispenser controlling thev dispensing of theA cartridges from saidL two members.

It is also an object to have such a device' which is quickly loaded for supplying the firearms with cartridges by introducing the cartridges in groups into the larger magazine portion thereof'.

It is a practical object of the invention to have such a cartridge dispenser in which the magazine and the relatively smaller dispensing member are relatively movable with respect to dispensing plates which have means for determining a series of positions in which dispensing apertures in` said plates register with cartridge chambers in said magazine portion and dispensing member.

It is, of course, an object of the invention to have a. dispenser of the indicated type` which is. safe and simple to use and serviceable at all times to facilitate loading firearms especially at target practice and the like;

Other objects and advantages of the invention in further detail as the specication proceeds.

In order to facilitate ready comprehension of this: invention for a proper' appreciation` of the salient features' thereof', the invention is illustrated on the accompanying drawing formingA a part hereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevationV ofthe cartridge dispenser made according to the invention and embodying the same in a'. practical' form;

Figure 2 is a vertical` section of the cartridge dispenser as taken online 24-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is ay transverse section. taken on line 3-3in Figure 1;

Fig-ure 45 is an exploded perspective' View of the cartridge dispenser as seen at an. angle from below inFiguref 1.

Throughout' the views the same reference numeralsindicate the same or like parts.

At target practice and in` shooting galleries, and also when hunting, various firearms are used; including small arms-and rifles which are capable of firing only one shot at-'a time; and also magazine riiles capable of repeating.. When al repeating riiie of the magazine type is tobe loaded, it is obvious that ra number' of cartridges are needed: at the same timeto load the magazine of such a rie so that small-capacity dispensers-willnot suice for this purpose or will at least not be efficient in the point of time savingA for loading such ai rile. On the other hand, if dispensers or"magazinesr are available for rapidly loading a repeating rie, such means are obviously not suitablev for loading single cartridges into the single-shot rifles or small arms, despite the fact that when a group of people are usingthe firearms, several typesr of the latter are frequently usedsimultaneously at the same place.

Upon colisideringv this problem, it has occurred to me that adispenser for cartridges should' be available which is just asfsuitable to load a large number of cartridges into the magazine of a repeating' riile as to. load single cartridges-k into single-shot, small arms, and rifles. As a result,v I have a found it quite feasible to produce aspe-V cial cartridge dispenser which issuitable for both purposes,4 as-will nowy be explained more' fully.

Hence, inthe practice of my invention, and referring again tothe drawing, a cartridge dispenser, generally indicated at- 5, primarily includes a magazine member 6 through which are bored a circular ser-ies ofY cartridge charnlcners` l, 'l extending from one end to the other, that is,` from-the tcpA S. to the lower endor bottom 9', the exterior ofY member 6v beingy preferably convexly liuted to form `the semi-cylindrical! convolutions lll, Ill, etc., radially designed on the same centers as the-chambers 1, l tolighten the structure.

In the formof theinvention illustrated-there are eleven convolutions upon the magazinefmember 6,while`- only tenbores are provided through the latter, with the eleventh convolution l l being solid, as particularly evident-at l2 in- Figures 2 and 4, for a purpose which will presently appear. Upon the'upper end 8 of magazine member t is mounted aY dispensing. plate or disc` |-3 by lmeans of a pivot screw lll centrally piercing plate or disc t3: in retaining the latter inI assemlbledl con-.- dition with magazine member 6 byy means-of the headr |55. therscrew being held in the' upper end 8 of the magazine member while the cylindrical neck portion i6 ofthe same screw serves as a pivot mounting for dispensing disc I 3 upon which it may be rotated. The periphery of the mentioned dispensing disc is preferably knurled, as indicated at I1, to facilitate rotating disc I3 about the -cylindrical neck portion I6 of screw I4 which extends through the aperture I8 in said disc. On the other hand, through this disc extends a dispensing opening I9 reinforced by an upwardlyprojecting rim or i-lange 4 and located within the periphery in such position that it will register successively with each of the bores 1, 1 in magazine members 6, 6 when it is rotated. It is, of course, not intended that the disc I3 is to be freely rotatable in any irregular manner, and hence facilities are provided to establish predetermined positions thereof. Thus, in the upper end 8 of magazine member 6 is a small bore 28' containing a compression spring 2| surmounted by a metal ball 22 normally urged by the spring into any one of a circular series of shallow recesses 23, 23 in the under side of dispensing disc I3. The arrangement is such that when the ball 22 is seated in any one of the recesses 23, the dispensing aperture I9 in dise I3 registers with one of the bores 1 in magazine member 6, except at one point where the mentioned dispensing opening will register with the rupper end of the solid portion I2, otherwise known as the solid convolution I I, at which point the disc will effectively block all of the bores 'I by presenting the dispensing opening I9 to the mentioned solid portion of the magazine member in such fashion that no dispensing of cartridges will occur through disc I3.l It is evident that if the disc is manually rotated one or more steps from the mentioned position, so that the opening I9 registers with the bores 1 in succession, the contents of such bores may be dispensed from the device.

Upon the lower end of magazine member 6 is a central stud 24 upon which is rotatably mounted a smaller magazine or dispensing member 25 which in profile is designed to resemble magazine member E in having a plurality of peripheral, arcuate flutings 26, 26 similar to the utings I0, I0, I I n said magazine member. A large central bore 21 in member 25 fits rotatably upon the mentioned stud 24, while into the free end of the latter is screwed a pivot screw 28 extending with its neck portion 29 through aperture 30 in a second dispensing disc 3| retained in assembled relation with stud 24 by means of the screw head 32. The screw 28 engages in the threaded aperture or bore 33 in stud 24 and dispensing member 25 is provided with a circular series of bores 34, 34 corresponding in general form and location with the exterior convolutions 26, 26 which, in this case, are eleven in number to form a continuous series without any break and register with the bores 1, 1 of magazine member 6 when rotated upon stud 24.

As the length of member 25 is intended to correspond to that of a single cartridge, slight variation in the length of the latter is provided for by a small shoulder 2 surrounding stud 24 in such fashion as to space dispensing member 25 from end 9 of magazine member 6 by a small gap 3.

Dispensing disc 3I is pierced by a dispensing opening 35 with which the bores 34, 34 in rotatable dispensingV member 25 are adapted to register in succession, member 25 having upon the lower end or face thereof 36 a small bore 31 containing a spring 38 urging a ball 39 into the recesses 40, 48 in the inner upper surface of dispensing disc 3| similar to the recesses 23 of previously-described dispensing disc I3. In contrast with the latter disc, however, dispensing disc 3I is xed in stationary position on the lower end of stud 24 by means of a pin 4I which extends through apertures 42 and 43 in the disc 3I and stud 24, respectively, so that dispensing member 25 alone is rotatable at the lower part of the magazine member 6.

In View of the fact that disc 3l does not actually rotate about the neckportion 29 of screw 28, but is merely centered thereby and held fixed to the lower end of stud 24, the dispenser 25 rotates between disc 3| and shoulder 2 at the lower end of the body portion of magazine member 6 at 9, while the spring-biased ball 39 successively engages in the recesses 40 in disc 3I as it rotates and comes into register with bores 1, 1 in the magazine member. In view of the fact that disc 3I is stationary in contrast with the rotatable magazine member 25 which is thus indexed by ball 39 and recesses 40, the lower end of dispensing member 25 is formed into a flange 44 which is preferably knurled and of slightly greater diameter than that ofdisc 3i, so that a proper finger grip may be obtained thereon for rotating it. In this case, there is Vno solid fluting upon dispensing member 25, but all of the arcuate flutings are hollow by having the bores 34 extending therethrough, but one of the bores is at all times blocked upwardly by the solid portion I2 of the one fluted portion II of magazine member 6.

Upon the solid uting II is fixed a belt clip 45 by means of a pair of screws 46 to facilitate suspending the device on the belt of a hunter, for example.

On the other hand, the length of bore 34 in each case, as determined by the axial length of rotatable dispensing member 25, as already intimated, is selected to be sufficient to house one cartridge between dispensing disc 3I and lower end 9 of magazine 6, with possible variations and inaccuracies in length compensated by gap 3 provided by shoulder 2. In contrast with dispensing member 25, magazine member 6 is of sufficient length so that the bores 1, 1 therein are each capable of housing a series of cartridges and in length are a multiple of the length of one of bores 34 in the mentioned dispensing member 25. If desired, both magazine member 6 about its lower end and dispensing member 25 may have a flange on either or both which serves to cover the outer portion of gap 3 between these members to prevent entry of dust and dirt into said gap. Such anges are optional and obvious upon mere mention thereof and are superfluous to illustrate.

From the foregoing it is evident that at the upperl end dispensing disc I3 may be rotated step by step so that the dispensing aperture I9 therein will register with rst one and then another of the long bores 1, 1 of magazine member 6 in such manner that the device may rst be loaded to full capacity with cartridges, preferably with the noses up, and inasmuch as the lower dispensing member 25 also registers by its bores 34 with the bores 1, 1, the cartridges will rest in vertical series upon the lower dispensing disc 3l and extend through bores 34 and 1 as though they were continuous bores fromone dispensing disc to the other. When a magazine rifle is to be loaded, the upper disc I3 is rotated to bring the aperture I9 away from the solid portionY II of magazine 6 to register with one of the bores 1 when inversion Vof the device with aperture I9 registering with the opening in the magazine of the rifle will cause the cartridges to slide into the magazine of said rifle, and if an insufficient number has thus been provided, disc I3 is rotated t0 the next bore l and the contents thereof also allowed to slide into the rifle magazine. It is at once evident that this also empties those bores 34 in lower dispensing member 25 which communicate with the upper longer bores 'I which are thus emptied of cartridges, but as magazine or repeating rifles are thus concerned with the loading by means of dispenser 5, this is no problem.

When, on the other hand, single-shot small arms and rifles are to be loaded from the dispenser, manipulation of the knurled periphery 44 of dispensing member 25 will provide step-bystep rotation of the latter to register one of the bores 34 therein which contains a cartridge so that the cartridge will drop through dispensing aperture 35 in disc 3|, the bore immediately beneath the solid portion l2 of single convolution Il of the magazine member 6 being the only one thus emptied of its cartridge inasmuch as dispensing aperture 35 is located directly beneath the solid portion I2 mentioned. Hence, if aperture 35 thus remains open, such open condition with a bore 34 registering therewith serves to form means of supplying cartridges one by one to the small .ar-ms or rifles which have no magazines but are adapted to fire a single shot. It is equally obvious from the foregoing that as soon as each of the empty bores 34 of dispensing member 25 is rotatably shifted beneath one of the cartridge-filled bores 1, a cartridge will drop from the latter into the shorter bores 34 so that the upper bores 1 will thus keep bores 34 supplied with cartridges until the entire magazine member 6 is empty.

The dispenser may be made of metal, either die cast or formed, drilled or cut, or of plastics, or any other material which is suitable for the purpose. Either a large or small number of bores may be provided in the magazine member and in the dispensing member.

Manifestly, variations may be resorted to and parts and features may be modified or used without others within the scope of the appended claims.

Having now fully described my invention, I claim:

1. A cartridge dispenser, including a magazine member having a circular series of elongated bores extending therethrough with a solid portion forming a break in the series, a dispensing disc rotatably mounted upon one end of the magazine member and having a single dispensing aperture successively registering with the bores in said series and with the solid portion of said magazine member upon rotation of the dispensing disc, means establishing a series of psitions of said disc with respect to said magazine member in which the dispensing aperture therein registers with each of said bores and with said solid portion in succession, a dispensing member rotatably mounted upon the other end of the magazine member and having a continuous circular series of bores extending therethrough and adapted to register with the bores and solid portion in said magazine member, a second non-rotary dispensing disc xed upon the latter externally of the dispensing member and having a dispensing aperture therein with which the bores in said dispensing member are adapted to register in succession, a peripheral flange upon said dispensing member for manually rotating it, the dispensing aperture in said second dispensing disc being xed in register With the solid portion of said magazine member forming the break in the circular series of bores in the latter, and means establishing a series of positions of said dipensing member in which the bores in the latter register with the bores and solid portion of said magazine member.

2. A cartridge dispenser, including a magazine member having a circular series of elongated bores extending therethrough with a solid portion in said magazine member forming a break in the series, a dispensing disc rotatably mounted upon one end of the magazine member in a position to close the bores and having a single dispensing aperture successively registering with said bores in said series and with the solid portion of said magazine member upon rotation of the dispensing disc, said dispensing disc having a series of recessed portions upon the inner side thereof and said magazine member having a small bore, a spring in said small bore, a contact member biased by said spring into any one of said recessed portions to engage the latter and establish a plurality of positions in which said dispensing aperture registers with one of said bores or with said solid portion on said magazine member, an axially-projecting stud upon the other end of said magazine member, a dispensing member having a central bore tting rotatably upon said stud and having a circular series oi bores registering with the bores in said magazine member and the solid portion thereof in various rotated positions of said dispensing member, a second dispensing disc xed upon the end of said stud in a position to retain said dispensing member between said second disc and the end of said magazine member, said second dispensing disc having an aperture therein for dispensing cartridges therethrough registering with the solid portion of said magazine member and having a plurality of recessed portions upon the inner surface facing the dispensing member, the latter having a small bore therein, a compression spring in said small bore and a friction contact member biased by said spring into engagement with the recessed portions in said second dispensing disc in order to establish a series of positions in which the bores in said dispensing member register with the aperture in said dispensing disc, and a knurled flange upon said dispensing member within said second dispensing disc for manually rotating said dispensing member to any one of said positions to register at least one bore of the dispensing member with said 'aperture in said second dispensing disc at will.

EARLY P. FRALEY.

No references cited. 

